“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”
Revelation 14:6-7
If we research what the term Gospel means, we find it means Good News. So the Gospel is the Good News given to us!
Gospel
/ˈɡɒsp(ə)l/
The word gospel is derived from the Anglo-Saxon term god-spell, meaning “good story,” a rendering of the Latin evangelium and the Greek euangelion, meaning “good news” or “good telling.”
To understand what the "Good News" is, we have to first understand the problem we face as humans.
The big problem for us humans is that we are rebellious and even though we know what is right, we have repeatedly chosen wrongly.
“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
James 4:17
If we make decisions based in self instead of based on loving others we are causing pain and chaos instead of harmony.
“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
Galatians 5:14
So the Law of God is simply to love. This is not some harsh and oppressive rule, this is a reminder that the only way to coexist is to not impose our free will on others and not to serve self. That is all God is asking is for us to be loving.
If we are not loving, we are breaking God's law.
“...sin is the transgression of the law.”
1 John 3:4
So it would make sense that if we only care about ourselves we are a cancer in society. Look around today in the world and see all the pain and suffering caused by a lack of love for our neighbors. This is not God's way, He is sickened by all the pain caused by our disobedience. God must banish those who do not wish to exist in the loving heavenly community.
We can see this is a common practice in civilizations… Anyone who does not want to live by the rules of society gets banished… In many cases in history, people would be sent away out of the protection of the group.
exile and banishment
…imposed by vested authority as a punitive measure. It most likely originated among early civilizations from the practice of designating an offender an outcast and depriving him of the comfort and protection of his group. ” Encyclopedia Britannica
This is not a perfect analogy, but it should give a clearer picture that if we do not wish to exist in harmony with God's other creations, we must be banished for the sake of those who do wish to live in harmony.
It is important to recognize that we are not entitled to eternal life, we were given the gift of life and along with it the gift of free will to choose how we wish to live. But because we have chosen self over living harmoniously with others we are not fit to join the community in Heaven as we would disrupt it and destroy their harmony.
“Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.”
1 Timothy 6:15-16
With this context, we can read a statement which may seem harsh at first:
“For the wages of sin is death...”
Romans 6:23
In this context we can understand that it is not God who is killing us for breaking His laws, but instead we are removing ourselves from God's protection and exiling ourselves away from the Source of eternal life. When Adam and Eve chose self, they lost access to the tree of life.
“We are not to regard God as waiting to punish the sinner for his sin. The sinner brings the punishment upon himself. His own actions start a train of circumstances that bring the sure result.”
Manuscript Releases (1MR 131.1)
We can start to see that the problem is that we are all doomed to die. We are infected with self and seem incapable of living in harmony with others.
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”
Romans 3:23
We need a cure to self and a path out of our mortal bodies cursed with sinful nature to eternal life with sinless natures.
“For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.”
1 Corinthians 15:53 (NLT)
Since the fall of Adam, we are in a really dark state with no hope of living after our mortal bodies fail us... But there is hope...
“For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.”
1 Corinthians 15:21
“Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.”
Romans 5:18-19
So there is hope! Someone has gone before us and figured out how to conquer self!
Who is this Savior of mankind who has given us this gospel?
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 6:23
The “Good News” is Jesus took on our sins so that we could have eternal life if we only accept His gift!
“...the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth...”
Romans 1:16
It is Jesus who is our Savior and our hope of living in harmony for eternity. However, it seems that the free gift of eternal life comes with a condition?
We must believe that Jesus has the power to save us!
We must Believe
First, we must believe that Jesus is the Son of God, otherwise this gift would mean nothing.
“But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name.”
John 20:31
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16
Secondly, we must believe that Jesus is the Son of God, otherwise this gift would mean nothing.
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
Romans 10:9
We must believe that the Father God raised Jesus from the dead and accepted His sacrifice.
“And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
Acts 16:31
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”
John 6:47
“And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”
John 6:69
Is there any other conditions for eternal life other than simply believing? As we read in James 2:19 that even the fallen angels believe this.
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
1 John 5:11
We must Confess Jesus is Lord
We must believe that Jesus is the Son of God, otherwise this gift would mean nothing.
“Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.”
1 John 4:15
“Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.”
1 John 4:2
This was not and will not always be popular to confess!
“These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.”
John 9:22
What is one way we are to confess Jesus?
“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
Acts 2:38
We should also humble ourselves to one another and lift eachother up!
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
James 5:16
However we read in Mark 1:23-24 that even the fallen angels profess Jesus to be the Son of God. Are there any other conditions of salvation?
Another way to confess that Jesus is Lord, is to confess our sins.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9
“Many concede that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world, but at the same time they hold themselves away from Him, and fail to repent of their sins, fail to accept of Jesus as their personal Saviour. Their faith is simply the assent of the mind and judgment to the truth; but the truth is not brought into the heart, that it might sanctify the soul and transform the character...” Selected Messages (1SM 389.2)
“And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Mark 1:15
With confession must come a desire for change, contained in the Gospel we find the ability to change, not on our own, but by believing that Jesus has a path out of this maze of sin.
We must Surrender & Repent
We must be sorry that we have chosen self over others, chaos over harmony. We must surrender self to God.
“Self-denial is the condition of salvation.”
BEcho December 9, 1895, par. 2
“Again and again he was offered pardon on condition of repentance and submission.”
Great Controversy (GC 495.3)
“The Word of God gives us no encouragement that a sinner is pardoned in order that he may continue in sin. He is pardoned on condition that he receives Christ, confessing and repenting of his sin and becoming renewed.”
20LtMs, Lt 161, 1905, par. 16
“There are conditions to our receiving justification and sanctification, and the righteousness of Christ.”
Selected Messages (1SM 377.1)
“God has made every provision to bring salvation within our reach, but He will not thrust it upon us against our will. He has laid down conditions in His word, and we should diligently, interestedly, with heart and mind, set about the task of learning these conditions, lest we make some mistake and fail to secure our title to the mansions above. ”
Testimonies for the Church (5T 542.2)
“We must meet the conditions laid down in the word of God or die in our sins. We must know what moral changes are essential to be made in our characters, through the grace of Christ, in order to be fitted for the mansions above.”
Testimonies for the Church (5T 535.2)
There are many instances in the Bible which speak to conditions: Hebrews 11:4, 11, 24-25; 1 John 3:7; Titus 3:5-7
“Salvation means to us complete surrender of soul, body, and spirit. Because of the unruly elements of our nature, our passions often gain the mastery. The only hope for the sinner is to cease from sin. Then his will will be in harmony with the will of Christ. His soul will be brought into fellowship with God. Those who enlist in the army of Christ must submit to His authority, and consult His will in all things. Implicit obedience is the condition of our salvation. God’s will must be obeyed in every particular. It is our salvation to make His law our rule, His life our pattern, His glory our chief end. To keep ourselves in the love of God, to be bound to obedience by His requirements, is to be free in Christ Jesus.”
14LtMs, Ms 73, 1899, par. 6
Faith = Surrender
We must confess to be saved and believe to be changed into a character who is not focused on self and who is obedient to God's law.
The gospel has power to transform our lives. Too often as Christians we settle for minimum requirements, minimum power. God has great power to give us victory over sin. ” Doug Batchelor
“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Romans 10:10
Our belief that Jesus can give us the power to overcome the cancer of self results in acts of kindness and servitute to others.
“The great gift of salvation is freely offered to us, through Jesus Christ, on condition that we obey the law of God; and individually we are to accept the terms of life with the deepest humiliation and gratitude.”
ST December 15, 1887, par. 10
God wants us to come home to Him, but He cannot bring us back if we do not wish to be good neighbors to His heavenly creations.
Simply put, if we desire to live in harmony with others and accept that God knows how is best for us to live in harmy (as He has indicated in His Law) then God wishes to give us eternal life!
We must be sure that we do not confuse conditions of salvation with the means of salvation... When we exercise faith, we obey. When we obey, we exercise faith, but neither earns us salvation. Jesus' death counted to us and the work of His Spirit in us that is salvation. Condition and cause must be kept separately but both are necessary in this process. ” Dennis Priebe
But again we are faced with the problem that we are stuck in our sinful natures and have no escape out or possibility of keeping God's commandments on our own... the only path is through Jesus!
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
John 14:6
“Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. ”
Acts 4:10–12
“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”
1 John 5:11
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Philippians 1:21
“I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.”
1 Corinthians 15:31
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.”
Isaiah 61:1
We are to share this message of hope to the meek, brokenhearted, captive and those who are bound.